Saudi Arabia · Medina Region · Madinah
Abyar 'Ali, Madinah — Area Guide & Where to Stay
Abyar 'Ali is the quarter on the south-western edge of Madinah where pilgrims put on ihram at the Miqat Dhu al-Hulayfah, west of Wadi al-'Aqiq.
About Abyar 'Ali
Where to stay in Abyar 'Ali
Where you base yourself shapes the visit — here's the character of each area.
Abyar 'Ali is a miqat station rather than a lodging quarter. Pilgrims book instead in Madinah, where the beds are, and drive out to the Miqat Dhu al-Hulayfah when the moment for ihram comes, which is how this quarter is normally used. Changing rooms and ablution halls adjoin it.
Most of the enclosure outside the prayer hall is pathways, galleries and trees, and car parks take the western side before the road to Mecca. Take the room in the city if you want a desk to come back to, then come out along Umar Bin Al Khattab Road.
About Abyar 'Ali
What are the main landmarks in Abyar 'Ali?
Abyar 'Ali's landmark is the Miqat Dhu al-Hulayfah. Pilgrims travelling from Madinah enter ihram there, and Muslims also know it as Masjid ash-Shajarah, the Mosque of the Tree, for the tree Muhammad prayed beneath before he rode out for Mecca. Two ranks of galleries face one another across an open courtyard, their arches closing into long domes.
Rooms for changing into ihram adjoin the prayer hall, and the mosque takes its address on Umar Bin Al Khattab Road. It stands west of Wadi al-'Aqiq. The Prophet's Mosque and the Quba Mosque belong to other quarters of Madinah, north-east of here.
What is the history of Abyar 'Ali?
Abyar 'Ali entered Islamic history under its older name, Dhu al-Hulayfah, the point Muhammad fixed as the miqat for pilgrims setting out from Madinah. He put on ihram here before riding out for umrah at Mecca. Dhu al-Hulayfah is the farthest of the five mawaqit from Mecca.
The older name is a diminutive of halfa, a desert grass of this ground. Abyar 'Ali means the wells of Ali. The wells are traced to Ali ibn Abi Talib, who held this ground.
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz raised the first mosque here as Umayyad governor of Madinah, in the years 87 to 93 AH; the Ottomans renewed it later, and King Fahd ordered the enlargement that stands.
Where is Abyar 'Ali?
Abyar 'Ali lies west of Wadi al-'Aqiq on the south-western edge of Madinah, out along the road that leaves the city for Mecca.
More areas in Madinah
Updated September 2026